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City's Museum System Earns Accreditation from American Alliance of Museums

The American Alliance of Museums has announced the Office of Historic Alexandria has earned accreditation as a museum system at the November 2012 meeting of the Accreditation Commission. Accredited status from the Alliance is the highest national recognition achievable by an American museum.

Ford Bell, President of the Alliance, will recognize the City for this great achievement at an event at the Lyceum on January 24.

The Office of Historic Alexandria is only one of eight municipal organizations across the country accredited for their museum systems. Other accredited Virginia museum systems include Fairfax County and Newport News.

Accreditation recognizes high standards in individual museums and ensures that museums continue to uphold their public trust. Developed and sustained by museum professionals for more than 40 years, the Alliance’s museum accreditation program is the field’s primary vehicle for quality assurance, self-regulation and public accountability.

Of the nation’s estimated 21,000 museums, 995 are currently accredited, as well as 69 museum systems. To earn accreditation, a museum first must conduct a year of self-study, and then undergo a site visit by a two-person team of peers. The Accreditation Commission, an autonomous body of museum professionals appointed by the Alliance Board, considers the self-study and site visit report to determine whether a museum should receive accreditation.